TOEFL® essay: Differences between living in a city and living in a countryside

[Phuoc]

Writing assignment: Write a paper on differences between living in a city and living in a countryside.

Everything always has two sides: the front side and the back side, or the positive and negative one. And so does living in a city or living in a countryside. While people living in a city enjoy job opportunities and convenient services of trade, health and entertainment, people living in a countryside gain a better living environment.

For one thing, people move to a city for job. A big city usually offers more jobs than a countryside does. In a countryside, most people do farming which is seasonal. In Mekong delta, for example, farmers usually do two crops a year: the Summer-Autumn crop and the Winter-Spring crop. Between them is a gap when they are suppose to do nothing, especially when the flood is coming. In addition, not everyone has fields to cope with. These people have to wait for someone hiring them to do something, and of course, it’s unstable. On the other hand, it’s not too difficult for one to earn a living in a city. For ones who have not got a certificate, there is still work for them such as riding a pedicab, being a porter at coach station or harbor, or selling something that does not need a big capital. For ones with degrees, a big city is the place for them, of course. This is because a lot of offices, companies, factories, groups… are located in big cities, not only the internal ones but also the ones coming from many countries over the world, not only the state-owned ones but also the private ones. In Ho Chi Minh city, for instance, ChoRay hospital, Sacombank, Vietnam Airlines, National University, VUS, etc. always attract masters, doctors, engineers and bachelors.

In addition to job offering, people who live in a big city also enjoy a more convenient and perfect services of trade, health, and entertainment than those in a countryside. In a countryside, people usually have to cover a long distance to get things in the local market which is poor in products. Also, it is time-consuming for them to have a health care, especially for those who can only travel by boat. Moreover, they rarely watch a movie in a cinema, simply because there is no cinema there. On the other hand, people who live in a city can freely choose products from a super market not far away from their homes. Coop Mart, a supermarket with several branches over HoChiMinh city, has became a popular address for many housewives. Also, most best and well-equipped hospitals are located in big cities, such as ChoRay, BinhDan, TuDu, SungChinh, Saint point, and so on. Recently, people in HoChiMinh city can enjoy 4D movie, which can “bring” watchers into the scene as chairs in this cinema can move backward and forward accordingly to what are happening in the movie.

However, big cities are not the heaven. People living there have to suffer from many kinds of pollution. Tracks, buses, taxis, motorbikes, etc. cause not only air pollution but noise pollution as well. More over, waste without treatment from factories make water polluted. Saigon, Thi Vai rivers are on the edge of danger as Tuoi Tre paper showed recently. Traffic jam is another problem. It is not only a waste of time but also harmful for health. Slowly moving meter by meter in the street at rushing hours, urban people not only have to breath the smoke from vehicles but also have to bear the roar from them. People living in a countryside, on the other hand, gain a better living environment. They enjoy fresh air and water. Trees and bushes around always make their lives “green”. They do not have to face traffic jam as there is little traffic there. Instead, they enjoy beautiful landscape and a peaceful atmosphere, which is useful for health, particularly for the elderly. Another thing which also belongs to good living environment in a countryside is the good relationship between people. While urban people sometimes do not know the name of the next door, rural people share their lives in many aspects. They work for exchange in crops. They spend several days on wedding or funeral of the neighbor’s relatives. They meet each other regularly in death ceremonies, or even in baby’s one month old party.

So, where do you prefer to live in, a city or a countryside? There is no perfect answer, I guess. To me, I would work in HoChiMinh city at weekdays to earn a living and to enjoy the perfect services there. Then, on weekends, I would return to my homeland, a countryside, to get the wild wind during my fishing, and enjoy a drink with my friends from the childhood.

[Alan]

Hi,

Everything always has two sides: the front side and the back side, or the positive and negative one. And so does living in a city or living in a countryside. While people living in a city enjoy job opportunities and convenient services of trade, health and entertainment, people living in THE countryside gain a better living environment.

For one thing, people move to a city for job. A big city usually offers more jobs than THE countryside does. In THE countryside, most people do farming which is seasonal. In Mekong delta, for example, farmers usually GROW two crops a year: the Summer-Autumn crop and the Winter-Spring crop. Between them is a gap when they are supposeD to do nothing, especially when the flood is coming. In addition, not everyone has fields to cope with. These people have to wait for someone hiring them to do something, and of course, it’s unstable. On the other hand, it’s not too difficult for one to earn a living in a city. For ones who have not got a certificate, there is still work for them such as riding a pedicab, being a porter at A coach station or harbor, or selling something that does not need a big capital. For ones with degrees, a big city is the place for them, of course. This is because a lot of offices, companies, factories, groups… are located in big cities, not only the internal ones but also the ones coming from many countries ALL over the world, not only the state-owned ones but also the private ones. In Ho Chi Minh city, for instance, ChoRay hospital, Sacombank, Vietnam Airlines, National University, VUS, etc. always attract masters, doctors, engineers and bachelors.

In addition to job offering, people who live in a big city also enjoy a more convenient and perfect services of trade, health, and entertainment than those in THE countryside. In THE countryside, people usually have to cover a long distance to get things in the local market which is poor in products. Also, it is time-consuming for them to have health care, especially for those who can only travel by boat. Moreover, they rarely watch a movie in a cinema, simply because there is no cinema there. On the other hand, people who live in a city can freely choose products from a supermarket not far away from their homes. Coop Mart, a supermarket with several branches over HoChiMinh city, has became a popular address for many housewives. Also, most best and well-equipped hospitals are located in big cities, such as ChoRay, BinhDan, TuDu, SungChinh, Saint point, and so on. Recently, people in HoChiMinh city can enjoy 4D movieS, which can “bring” watchers into the scene as chairs in this cinema can move backward and forward according to what IS happening in the movie.

However, big cities are not heaven. People living there have to suffer from many kinds of pollution. TrUcks, buses, taxis, motorbikes, etc. cause not only air pollution but noise pollution as well. More over, waste without treatment from factories make water polluted. Saigon, Thi Vai rivers are on the edge of danger as Tuoi Tre paper showed recently. A Traffic jam is another problem. It is not only a waste of time but also harmful for health. Slowly moving meter by meter in the street at rush hours, urban people not only have to breathE the smoke from vehicles but also have to bear the roar from them. People living in THE countryside, on the other hand, gain a better living environment. They enjoy fresh air and water. Trees and bushes around always make their lives “green”. They do not have to face traffic jamS as there is little traffic there. Instead, they enjoy beautiful landscapeS and a peaceful atmosphere, which is useful for health, particularly for the elderly. Another thing which also belongs to good living environment in THE countryside is the good relationship between people. While urban people sometimes do not know the name of the next door NEIGHBOUR, rural people share their lives in many aspects. They work for exchange in crops. They spend several days AT weddingS or funeralS of the neighbor’s relatives. They meet each other regularly in death ceremonies/FUNERALS, or even in baby’s one month old party.

So, where do you prefer to live in, a city or THE countryside? There is no perfect answer, I guess. To me, I would work in HoChiMinh city ON weekdays to earn a living and to enjoy the perfect services there. Then, on weekends, I would return to my homeland, THE countryside, to get the wild wind WHILE fishing, and enjoy a drink with my CHILDHOOD friends.

Alan
_________________
English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Phrasal Verbs/run

[Phuoc]

Thanks so much Alan!